Splorin' at the Beach
by Daughterof8
Summary: Gracie Belden spots something in the woods, so she enlists her aunt to go splorin' with her.


Honey Belden sat on her beach towel in the sand and peered around, looking for her daughter. She spotted her walking towards the forest of trees on the edge of the sand, obviously curious. "Gracie! Gracie, come back here," Honey called to her daughter. "You need to stay over here where I can see you."

"But Mom, I see something over there in the trees! I want to go see what it is," seven-year-old Gracie responded.

Honey couldn't help but smile fondly at her daughter. Even if Gracie's father wasn't the most curious Belden, she had still inherited the famous Belden trait. "Okay, sweetie, I understand that you want to go over there. But you need to remember to ask permission first."

Gracie nodded her head, her honey-colored hair that she had gotten from her mother blowing in the faint breeze. "Okay, Mom. May I please go see what's in the trees?"

"Yes, you may…as long as Matt goes with you." Fourteen-year-old Matthew was Gracie's oldest brother. Matt was a carbon copy of his father, right down to the sense of responsibility and wavy dark hair.

Gracie sighed. She didn't want Matt to go with her, but she supposed Matt was better than having to take eleven-year-old Andy, who was always teasing her. "Fine, Mom. Where is he?"

Honey pointed over to the volleyball net that the Bob-Whites had set up. "Looks like he's playing volleyball."

Gracie groaned. Matt loved to play volleyball, and she knew that it would be futile to persuade him to do something else. "Can't you just go with me, Mom?"

Honey glanced down at her seven-month-pregnant belly. "I think I would rather just stay right here, sweetie."

Gracie's shoulders drooped. She sighed. "Aw, Mom."

"I have an idea," Honey said quickly before Gracie got too discouraged. "Why don't you go ask your Aunt Trixie? I'm sure that she'd go with you."

"Why would she go with me? She's playing volleyball, too," Gracie said disdainfully.

"Your aunt is very curious, Gracie. Even more than you are. I have no doubt that she'll go with you."

Gracie shrugged. "Okay." She skipped over to where her aunts, uncles, and cousins were playing beach volleyball. She stood on the sidelines, biting her lip nervously. It wasn't long before someone noticed her.

"Hey, Gracie!" her Uncle Mart called to her. "Do you want to play?"

Gracie shook her head. "No thanks. I want to see if Aunt Trixie will come exploring with me. I saw something mysterious in the trees, and I want to go find out what it is. But my mom says someone has to go with me."

Mart fake groaned. "Oh no, not another Schoolgirl Shamus; one is enough."

"Thought you were only sticking to mysteries for your agency," Dan teased Trixie.

"Humph! You should know that I never pass up a mystery, business or not business. Come on, Gracie." Trixie held out a hand to her niece.

"Be careful, Trix," Jim said, glancing fondly at his wife of many years.

"If I wasn't being careful, telling me to be careful isn't going to make me careful," Trixie pointed out. But then she smiled softly at her husband as she wrapped her arms around herself. "But I promise I won't do anything even remotely dangerous." She paused, and then added, "Not that there's very much I even _could _do that's dangerous in the woods."

Mart snorted at that comment, but before he could respond, Gracie tugged at Trixie's hand. "I thought we were going to explore, Aunt Trixie."

"We are, Gracie." The two walked silently across the sand until they reached the edge of the woods. "Now, where did you see something mysterious?"

Gracie frowned. "It was pretty near the edge of the woods, but in far enough that it wasn't completely obvious to anyone looking over here."

"Okay." Trixie led the way into the trees, and it wasn't long until she exclaimed, "I think I found what you saw, Gracie!"

"You did? Where? What is it?" Gracie eagerly came up behind her aunt. "Oh! What is this?"

Trixie smiled. "It's a hammock." She ran her hand over the soft orange and yellow fabric that was strung upon two trees. "I wonder how it got here."

Gracie tested its strength by sitting on it before she climbed up onto it and lay down. "What's it for?" she asked as she placed her hands behind her head.

Trixie's smile stretched into a grin. "Exactly what you're doing – it's for relaxing in."

"Oh, cool!" Gracie pushed herself up and looked at her aunt. "Can you swing in it? It looks like you can swing in it."

"Yep." Trixie came to one of the sides of the hammock. "Lay back down and I'll push you."

"Okay…but not too hard." Gracie lay back down with her arms stretched above her head and smiled gleefully as Trixie pushed the hammock. There was nothing like feeling the cool summer breeze on her face. She lay looking up at the trees for a while before the swinging motion gradually made her eyes heavy. Finally, she gave in and closed her eyes, and soon she was fast asleep.

Trixie tilted her head and watched her young niece sleep for a while. Eventually she stopped pushing and placed both her hands on her stomach. A few minutes later she felt arms go around her and then two more hands appeared on her stomach.

"What are you thinking about?" a husky voice murmured in her ear.

Trixie smiled and leaned back against Jim. "Nothing much. I was just thinking that I wouldn't mind having a girl this time."

"I wouldn't mind, either." Jim rested his chin on her curls and watched Gracie sleep. "I love our three boys, but it would be nice to have a little girl with blue eyes and sandy curls."

"Yes." Trixie paused. "Hey, Jim? I have a question."

"What's that, Trix?"

"If we have a little girl…can we name her Katie?"

"Of course, Shamus." Jim turned her around and kissed her. "Of course."

_**Author's Notes**_

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Trixie Belden characters. I do, however, own Gracie, her brothers, and Trixie's boys (even if I didn't name them yet *g*).**

**Just so you know, that ending was not planned. It was supposed to end with Trixie watching Gracie or Trixie walking back to the others, but Jim **_**insisted**_** on getting some time with Trixie away from the others. I, of course, was happy to oblige :)**

**You may say that since Gracie Belden is seven she would call Honey "Mommy" instead of "Mom," but I know that when you have older siblings that call your parents one thing, it's quite likely that the younger siblings will follow suit, as my five-year-old brother calls our parents "Dad" and "Mom", just like the rest of us do. So I figured that Matt and Andy would call Brian and Honey "Dad" and "Mom" and Gracie would call them that, too. And yeah, she may talk a bit maturely for a seven-year-old, but in my mind that's what she is – mature.**

**Yes, there was line in there quoted from the Big Bang Theory. No, I'm not making any profit off of it :)**

**This is another submission for CWE #3 on Jix. It finished at 1011 words, and it's based on picture #22.**

**This story is part of a universe that I have yet to start and name. So yes, you will find out more about the other Bob-Whites and their kids at a later date.**

**Thank you so much to all my editors! Jo (JJsGirl), Jenny, Joycey (bundysbaby), Pam (fanfrom76), and Lilly! You are all the absolute best! Any mistakes are mine, as I messed around with it afterwards.**

**Thank you to everyone who read this! I hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse of the future of the Bob-Whites.**


End file.
